Life Lessons from a Business Consultant

Business consultants are a certain breed. Driven, passionate, and used to success, likely they have learned a lot of life lessons along their way to success. Opterre, a business consultant firm that coaches business consultants to success in their chosen industry, shares some of its best life lessons.

LIFE LESSONS FROM A BUSINESS CONSULTANT

Life is all about balance. As a business consultant, you put in long days and rarely take a day off. This is what drives you, motivates you, and propels you over the crowd. And Opterre dares to say you thrive on hard work and achievement. However, work is just that: work. It’s who you’re working for that matters. Are you working for yourself? For your family? Remember when you leave this world, odds are no one’s going to remember that important presentation you did for a client, that last-minute, million-dollar deal you closed, or the client you saved. If you’re honest with yourself, is this what you want to be remembered for? Ask yourself what you want to be remembered for and then just do it.

Decisive decisions are never regretted. Inherent in a business consultant’s job is decision making. Not just any kind of decision making that Joe Smith could do. The kind of decision making that sets you apart from everyone else on the planet. You’re paid money to make the tough decisions, the decisions no one else wants to make, and likely the decisions no one else will make but yourself. So make them and don’t look back. Regret is too big of a burden for anyone to carry around.

Do more than you say you’re going to do. This applies to business and everything else in life. Underpromise and overdeliver is the hallmark of a successful business consulting career. However, with business consultants, you deliver pizza to the moon and back — all in under 20 minutes.

Invest in yourself. As humans, we are wired to constantly grow and do new things. We stagnate when we don’t and for business consultants, that stagnation turns into wilting and then dying inside. Attend business consulting conferences you think you don’t have time for. Read up on Theodore Roosevelt. Learn how to play softball or cricket or your son’s card game. Make a recipe you’ve never made. Build the fence in the back yard you’ve been putting off for years. Get a puppy or a kitty who will teach you more about yourself than most other things on this planet.

People matter. From the bus boy who cleans your table at a five-star restaurant to the millionaire client whom you’ve spent months wooing, people and the relationships you form is your reason for living. They are behind every product, every sale, and every reason for doing what you do. Take the time to invest in others like someone invested in you. Time is never wasted when helping others succeed.

What you do is more important than what you say. Remember you’re always being watched. This may be by those who idolize you in your business consulting company or by your kids who will mimic what you do. Even your pets watch you; they just don’t say anything. Do the right thing always. Give to others. Do random acts of kindness. Be kind and speak kindly. If you’re not helping others, then you’re wasting your time.

Be true to who you are and speak your truth with honesty, clarity, encouragement, and hope. As a business consultant, you deliver bad news. You’ve probably had to fire people. You’ve made decisions that impacted others’ livelihoods. You’ve had conflicts you’ve had to manage and communication breakdowns and explosions. Be authentic in all encounters. People will love you for it.

We at Opterre have had to learn things the hard way at times. Life brings highs and lows, all of which are teachable moments to make yourself a better person. Embrace the change. Embrace who you are. Embrace life. Contact us today!